Living in Shadows
by ZeroLuver567
Summary: Nico di Angelo is an enigma that no one can really understand. Half the time he's quiet and mysterious, the other half he drives his demigod friends up a wall. And lets not forget his general dislike of human touch. Makes it difficult to be friends, honestly. Join the gang in sporadically updated one-shots which show just how difficult dealing with the son of Hades can really be.
1. Halloween is Nico's Fav Holiday

**Nico di Angelo is an enigma that no one can really understand. Half the time he's quiet and mysterious, the other half he drives his demigod friends up a wall. And lets not forget his general dislike of human touch. Makes it difficult to be friends, honestly. Join the gang in sporadically updated one-shots which show just how difficult dealing with the son of Hades can really be.**

**(Some events may be cannon. Others are purely headcannon. It will all depend on my mood when I update)**

**Authors Note: Yes I am currently working on Stuck in Disneyland and Say Something. The chapters are taking longer to write and think about than previously planned.**

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**In Whic****h Halloween is Nico's Favorite Holiday**

Annabeth was tired of surprises.

She'd been surprised too many times in the past year. It started in January when, out of the blue, Percy finally got down on one knee in what was one of the best days of her life. She'd then been surprised when Percy and their friends had thrown her a birthday party for her twenty-fourth birthday. She'd even been surprised when Rachel had announced she was moving out of her Camp Half-Blood cave and getting an apartment with her best friend. Which, for some reason that she had never really understood, was Nico di Angelo. Annabeth choose to let that one slide, since it wasn't like they could ever get together. But still. When did that happen?

Not to mention all the monster attacks that were STILL happening. Albeit they did not happen as often as when she was a kid, but still. Not cool!

The last straw was the Grace's annual Halloween party. Piper and Jason were some of her closest friends, but sometimes lines had to be drawn.

Nico had come up behind her as she and Percy had entered the apartment, and with his general inclination for hiding in shadows and quiet footsteps she hadn't even noticed him until he'd tapped her on the shoulder and whispered "Boo."

It hadn't even been scary, but her nerves were so frayed (she'd barley survived an attack from a gryphon earlier that day) she'd screamed and lugged her purse at him. At nineteen, almost twenty, Nico was tall and skinny, but he was quick, and managed to avoid her attack.

"Geez, Annabeth. Are you trying to kill me?" Nico was standing in front of her, arms crossed, trying not to smile in a way that she found particularly annoying.

"You scared me," Annabeth muttered. Percy took her hand and muffled his laughter behind his hand. Annabeth glared at him.

"What?!" she asked her fiancé incredulously. Percy wisely stopped laughing.

"Nothing," he said carefully.

"Like hell," Nico said with a smirk, "You should have seen your face! You looked like you'd seen a ghost."

"You would know," Annabeth muttered.

She took note of Nico's costume. Even as adults, everyone had agreed to dress up on Halloween. Nico had done so begrudgingly, though Annabeth suspected that he enjoyed it way more than he let on. This year he was wearing a dark, floor length jacket, with golden amour like shoulder pads, and a green cape. His usually unruly dark hair was slicked back off his forehead so she could actually she his eyes. Annabeth wasn't good with characters but the ensemble was vaguely familiar.

"Dude, nice Loki costume," Percy commented appreciatively. Right. Loki. The main villain from that silly Avenger's movie Percy had made her watch.

"Thanks," Nico spun around, letting his cloak flap around him, before coming to a stop, "Rachel made it for me."

"Speaking of which," Annabeth interrupted, "Where is she?"

"Probably getting drunk with Piper," Nico said happily, "Come on."

Annabeth exchanged looks with Percy, who shrugged and followed Nico into the crowd.

Most of the party's attendees where demigods, which didn't really surprise her. She spotted Hazel and Frank nearby, having an intense conversation with a girl from the Ares cabin dressed as a U.S. Army soldier. Reyna was wandering back and forth between the punch bowl and the door, like she couldn't decide whether to leave or stay. Even Grover was there, eating one of the armchairs while dressed as Mr. Tumnus from _The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. _

They eventually found Rachel doing just as Nico had predicted, sitting on a couch with Piper and Jason, and drinking shots of tequila. Piper was dressed as Lois Lane, while Jason wrapped his arm around her in a Superman costume that, unfortunately, didn't leave much to the imagination. Rachel's Dorothy from _The Wizard of Oz _costume was already stained with spilt alcohol. Her hair was coming out of its braids, and it looked like she was trying to tell and elaborate story, but couldn't finish because her words weren't coming out right.

"Wow…" Nico said under his breath, "Guess I'm the designated driver tonight."

Nico left Annabeth and Percy standing on the sidelines and plopped himself unceremoniously next to Rachel, stealing her shot glass and downing the remains in a swift gulp. Annabeth dragged Percy over to the only other couch on the other side of the coffee table, which was littered with drinks and snacks.

"Hey!" Rachel protested, "That's illegal! Give me my glass back!"

Nico smirked and raised the glass above his head and Rachel struggled to reach for it, "No way. You've had way too much young lady."

"I'm older than you," she complained, "You're not even old enough to drink!" She huffed, giving up and reaching for an unopened bottle of beer, which Percy stole before she could even get close. Rachel glared at him, but did not protest.

"By technical standards, I could be your great-grandfather," Nico stuck his tongue out at her, "And I could out drink you any day."

"Except you won't" Jason leaned over the girls to steal the shot glass out of Nico's hand, " I know what happened the last time I let you drink. And I'm not condoning giving alcohol to minors."

"Party pooper," Nico said. He folded his arms and sat back with a dignified huff.

"Oh please," Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Don't be such a baby." She took a beer off the table and popped it open. Usually she wasn't a beer type of girl but tonight, she figured she'd make an exception.

Nico shot a glare her direction, which she stubbornly ignored. Percy leaned back next to her and placed his arm on the couch behind her, grinning. Annabeth leaned up against him, enjoying the feeling to just being with him.

"What are you even supposed to be?" Nico interrupted her thoughts, "a slutty business woman?"

Sometimes Annabeth really wanted to strangle him. As he'd gotten older and more confident, she'd discovered that Nico had NO verbal filter, especially when he'd had alcohol. He tended to blurt out the first thing that came into his head, which was a pretty large contrast to how he'd been as a teenager.

"Elle Woods from _Legally Blonde_," she responded, "Watch a movie sometime."

"It's on our list," Rachel said slowly, like she had to concentrate very hard to get the words out, "I think we're supposed to watch it tomorrow…."

Nico rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, "If it's got women wearing skanky clothes then no thanks. I'm not into that."

"Oh really? Then what ARE you into?" Annabeth jabbed, a little annoyed with his attitude.

"Dylan O' Brien. Or Bradley James from _Merlin._ He's pretty attractive," Nico mused, mostly to himself.

"What?" Percy asked. He narrowed his eyes at Nico, who was still staring at the ceiling. Percy crossed his arms, which looked a little menacing combined with his pirate costume, "Is there something you're not telling us?"

"Nope," Nico stopped looking at the ceiling and leaned forward to grab some chips off the table, "Absolutely nothing."

Percy raised his eyebrows, exchanging looks with Annabeth. Jason caught her eye and mouthed, _let it go._

"Um, okay," Annabeth took another swig of beer, "So…"

Rachel suddenly lurched to her feet, only to stumble and fall onto Nico. Nico struggled to push her off of him, but in her intoxicated state, she wasn't much help.

"Rachel, I think you're crushing him," Piper said, putting charm-speak into her words. Almost as if on command, Rachel stood back up, and this time, didn't fall down. Nico took advantage of the respite to catch his breath.

"Geez woman. You weigh a ton," he complained.

Rachel turned around to give Nico the bird, which made the rest of them laugh. Nico smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes.

'"Okay," Percy said when he'd caught his breath, "So is there any reason why you chose to stand up even though you're completely drunk?"

Rachel sighed, "I'm not THAT drunk, Percy. I know my limits."

"Doubt it," Nico muttered.

"Nico," Rachel said dangerously, "Say one more word and I'm pushing you back into to Tartarus."

Wisely, Nico didn't retort.

"To answer Percy's question," Rachel continued, "I was thinking we should play a game!"

"A game?" Percy perked up, leaning forward, "What kind of game?"

Rachel looked almost giddy, "I dunno," she picked up a beer bottle, "Maybe spin the bottle?"

Jason looked skeptical, "That's a little middle school, don't you think?"

Rachel sighed again and crossed her arms, "Did I ask your opinion Grace?"

"No," Jason said nervously, "I'm just saying…"

"I think it's a great idea," said Piper, "I've never played."

"Same," Annabeth said. She tended to avoid these types of frivolous games, but she suspected that the beer was clouding her judgment, "How do we play?"

Percy sighed in defeat, "Well if the girls are going to play, I guess we should too."

Jason looked like he'd rather do anything else, but he nodded, " I guess I'm in. Nico, you playing?"

Nico poked his head out from behind Rachel, who was blocking his view of the table, "Something tells me that if I say no, you guys are going to make me play anyways… So I might as well."

'"Great!" Rachel swept the food and drink remains off the coffee table and set it down in the middle of the group.

"Only one rule different from the normal rules," Rachel said, "I can't kiss anyone on the lips, or else Apollo will fry us. Everything else stays the same," she nodded towards Percy, "You start."

Percy sighed and spun the bottle. Much to Annabeth's amusement, it landed on Jason.

"Dude, no, I'm not kissing you," Jason said vehemently.

"Rules are rules," Piper said sweetly.

Jason feigned looking hurt, "I thought my wife would be on my side!"

"In normal circumstances," Piper agreed, "Which these are not."

Jason sighed and stood up, "Come here Percy."

"This is really weird," Percy said. Annabeth tried not to laugh and she squeezed his hand.

"You said you'd play," she reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah," Percy stood up and hopped over her legs, which were propped up on the table. He stood in front of Jason, looking at the slightly taller male skeptically.

"Oh my gods," Nico threw his hands up, "I'm growing old just waiting for you two ladies. Just do it."

"I don't know how to do this…" Percy muttered.

"It's a kiss, not rocket science," Nico said, exasperated.

"Time's a wastin," Rachel reminded them.

Percy sighed and grabbed Jason behind the neck, "You so owe me."

"Touché,"Jason said. Percy leaned in and kissed the other male on the lips. They lasted all of about five seconds before Percy pulled away, looking a little disgusted.

"I am NEVER doing that again," Percy complained.

"Then you better hope I don't land on you," Jason teased, which elicited a groan from Percy.

"Give me the bottle," Annabeth demanded. She spun it, and it circled a couple of times around before landing on Piper.

"Oh goodie!" Piper said sarcastically.

"Come on now," Jason teased, "Rules are rules."

"Shut up," Piper stood up as Annabeth did. They met where the boys had stood, and Piper grabbed her face and kissed her. Her lips were soft and tasted like chap stick and beer.

"I'm pretty sure I was supposed to initiate the kiss," Annabeth said as she sat back down.

"Whatever," Piper said smoothly, "Jason, spin the bottle"

Luckily for Jason the bottle landed on Piper, so no one was really surprised when their kiss turned into a mini make-out session. Nico made a very loud noise of protest and covered his ears, his head braced between his knees.

Rachel was next, and Annabeth was more than willing to kiss her on the cheek. That was nowhere near as awkward as kissing Piper had been.

Nico was last.

Nico seemed to want nothing more than to get his turn over with, so he spun the bottle with a little more force than was strictly necessary. When the bottle stopped and he saw who it landed on, however, his already pale complexion turned white.

"What?" Percy asked, "Afraid I'm a bad kisser or something?"

"No," Nico muttered. He stood, wiping his hands on his costume. Annabeth noticed his looked almost nervous. "Let's just get this over with."

Percy sighed and stood up. Annabeth crossed her arms and watched as the two stood there, staring at each other next to the coffee table. Nico wasn't that much shorter than Percy was, she noticed dimly.

To her surprise… to add to her list of things that surprised her this year, Nico kissed Percy first. Intensely.

Percy froze at first, but when it wasn't ending he closed his eyes and tentatively kissed the other boy back, resting his hands on Nico's waist. Nico had his hands in Percy's hair before he jerkily broke away, looking embarrassed.

"That. Didn't. Happen." Nico said sternly, sitting back down and looking anywhere but at Percy.

"Okay," Percy said blankly. He sat down next to Annabeth and pecked her on the lips. They tasted like tequila and ashes, which she suspected was Nico's doing.

As the rest of the night wore on Annabeth noticed that Nico seemed to be doing his best to distance himself from the group. Hazel and Frank joined them and they played a couple rounds of poker, but he refused to participate, and most of his sarcastic comments were half-hearted. As the guests began to dwindle and all that remained was their little group from the seven, Rachel, and Nico, Annabeth pulled him aside.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Nico seemed surprised, since it wasn't that often Annabeth ever spoke to him directly in a way that wasn't annoyed or teasing, "Yeah I'm fine… Why?"

"You seem kind of distant. That's not like you."

Nico snorted, "Please. I've been acting like this for years."

"Yeah, when we were kids. Not so much anymore," Annabeth crossed her arms and sighed. This was getting nowhere.

"You're right," Nico said softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. It's just…"

"Just what?" Annabeth asked.

Nico started at the ground, his hands pulling on the zipper of his Loki jacket, "… nothing. Forget I said anything."

"If this is about your crush on Percy, I already figured it out," Annabeth said.

Nico didn't seem surprised, "I figured. It's not really much of a crush anymore though. I've moved on."

Annabeth wasn't sure if she really believed him but she let it slide, "Listen Nico. I'm not judging you. You can like whomever you want. Just… don't worry us okay?"

"Okay," Nico didn't seem to have much will to fight her.

As they walked back to the table Nico asked, "So when did you figure it out?"

Annabeth shrugged, "I've had my suspicions for a while. I didn't know for sure till..." she gestured to the beer bottle, which was still sitting on the coffee table.

She wasn't sure in the dim lighting, but she thought Nico was blushing, "That obvious huh?"

"Only for someone who knows how to read the signs," Annabeth said with a smile, "Lucky for you, Percy is NOT one of those people."

"Thank the gods," Nico said, "Can I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure," Annabeth said, already suspecting what he wanted to ask.

"Can you not tell anyone? I'm not… I'm not really sure I want everyone else to know yet…"

Annabeth nodded. She wasn't going to force Nico "out of the closet" if he wasn't ready. "Of course. Does anyone else know?"

"Just Jason…" Nico glanced in his direction, " I don't even think he's told Piper."

"Then you have nothing to worry about," Annabeth took his hand gently, half expecting him to pull away. When he didn't she smiled, "Come on, lets get back to what's left of the party."

**A.N.-If you don't know who Dylan O'Brien is he's Stiles on Teen Wolf and he's playing Thomas in The Maze Runner movie, which I am EXTREMELY excited about.**


	2. Rachel Tries to Get Nico a Date

**Nico di Angelo is an enigma that no one can really understand. Half the time he's quiet and mysterious, the other half he drives his demigod friends up a wall. And lets not forget his general dislike of human touch. Makes it difficult to be friends, honestly. Join the gang in sporadically updated one-shots which show just how difficult dealing with the son of Hades can really be.**

**(Some events may be cannon. Others are purely headcannon. It will all depend on my mood when I update)**

**Authors Note: Yes I am currently working on Stuck in Disneyland and Say Something. The chapters are taking longer to write and think about than previously planned.**

**I do not own PJO or HOO**

**I do own Daniel who may or may not appear again)**

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**In Which Rachel Tries to Get Nico a Date**

Nico loved Rachel. He really did. She understood him in a way that no one else really did. Neither of them had really fit into the demigod world. Rachel because she was a mortal, and the Oracle, which was strange to begin with, and Nico… well he simply had never really belonged anywhere. Rachel understood that.

But there are some days where Nico wonders how they even get along.

"No Rachel, I really don't need a boyfriend. Can I go back to sleep now?"

Rachel had dragged him over to their apartment living room window at five o'clock that morning. Nico had been having one of his rare nightmare free dreams, and was NOT happy with it being interrupted. At age 21 he was still suffering from nightmares about Tartarus. He wondered if he would ever really forget the place.

"His name is Daniel," she encouraged.

Nico sighed and banged his head on the glass once, hoping the pain would make her go away. It didn't.

Sitting down on a bench outside the apartment was a young man, maybe twenty, possibly older. At this distance, it was hard to tell. He had curly dark hair and rectangular glasses. He was reading something that looked suspiciously like Harry Potter. The man was wearing white skinny jeans and a dark blue flannel. At his side was a golden retriever, sleeping on the ground without a care in the world.

In summary the guy was cute, but definitely not cute enough to be cause for Nico to wake up at five in the morning.

"Come on Nico! You can't spend the rest of your life alone!" Rachel poked him in the ribs.

He swatted her hand away, "You are."

"That's different," Rachel, said happily, "I'm required to remain single. You sir, are not."

Nico sighed in exasperation, "Look, I'm just not interested right now okay? Go play match maker with someone else."

"Fine," Rachel was still smiling though, like she knew something he didn't. Which she probably did, being the Oracle and all that.

"I'm taking a shower," Nico told her, "Make sure you eat something before you leave for work."

"I can take care of myself Nico. I'm a grown woman," Rachel stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and shut her out by closing the door to the bathroom.

By the time he was done and dressed she was already gone. Nico smiled to himself and took a deep breath. This is what he looked forward to each day, the couple of hours of solitude before he had to go to his own job at the Denny's a block away, where he worked as a waiter.

Despite himself, Nico found himself glancing out the window on his way to the kitchen. To his surprise, he was still there. Instead of reading, the man was on his feet, playing with his dog.

Nico found himself smiling. He was a sucker for attractive guys with dogs. Then he remembered the events of the hour before and scowled. He was NOT going to let Rachel win.

He went to go make his breakfast and pushed the thought of the guy out of his mind. By the time Nico was putting his jacket on to leave at 8:00 a.m. the man was gone.

Nico felt a ridiculous surge of disappointment. It wasn't like he'd been planning on talking to the guy. Hell, he didn't even know if the guy was GAY. Still, something about him had been sort of appealing.

He slammed the front door in frustration. _The last thing you need is a mortal boyfriend_ he chided himself, _Just let it go._ He'd never been in a relationship before… heck; there were only three people in the world that knew he played for the other team. The last thing he needed was to get romantically attached to someone.

Nico put on his motorcycle helmet, and revved the engine. He loved his motorcycle. He'd salvaged it from a junkyard last year and Leo had rebuilt it and completely decked it out with everything a demigod in constant danger could ever want. There was even a place to store his sword, which was where it was now. The first time he'd brought it to work, he'd gotten so many strange looks he decided to leave it locked up in the cycle. Leo had made sure that mortals or monsters couldn't steal the motorcycle. He didn't know how but he appreciated it. Nico would have had the thing stolen no less than five times without it.

Nico sped through New York traffic, probably alerting every cop in a mile radius of his presence. Not that they would ever catch him. They never did. Hazel was convinced that he was going to get himself killed one day. She was probably right, but at the moment, Nico didn't care.

Nico made it to his shift about five minutes early. He threw his keys and his change of clothes in his locker. He had no intention of being in this uniform any longer than he needed to be.

He put on his apron and grabbed his pad and pen. Christy, his manager, handed him a set of silverware and pointed to a booth, where a man was sitting alone, his back turned to him. Nico sighed and made his way to the booth, dodging a pair of screaming kids who had escaped from their parents.

Nico didn't look at the customer as he set the silverware down on the table and started talking, "Sorry for taking so long. Can I get you anything to drink?"

He glanced up and froze. It was the guy from that morning.

_I wonder where his dog is_ Nico thought stupidly, then noticed a patch of golden brown fur poking up from underneath the table.

" I snuck him in," the man said sheepishly, "I can put him outside if you want."

Nico knew his answer would probably get him fired, but somehow, he couldn't bring himself to play the bad cop.

"Well dogs are strictly not allowed, unless they are seeing eye dogs, but I guess if you can make sure no one else sees him then I'll pretend I never did," Nico said, giving the man his best smile. Usually smiling at customers felt forced. This time… it was a little easier.

"Thanks man,' the man said quietly, "I owe you one."

"If you get caught I'm playing dumb," Nico responded, "Drinks?"

He got drink orders for a couple more tables and went back to the kitchen to retrieve them. He saved the mystery guy for last. Nico wasn't even sure why he did it. Maybe subconsciously he wanted to get to know the guy better, and the longer he stayed, there was a better chance of that. Whatever the case by the time he came back to the table, the man was back to reading.

Nico placed the glass of Coke down on the table and the man closed his book. He could feel the stranger's eyes on him as he fumbled for his pen. Or it could just be his imagination.

"Could I ask you something?"

Nico's head snapped up at being addressed, "Um, sure…"

"Do you happen to have an apartment in the Edison complex?"

_Shit_ Nico thought. Did he see them staring at him this morning.

"Yes," he decided to go the honest route. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

"I thought I saw you and your girlfriend staring at me this morning. I just wanted to know why," the man smiled up at him and Nico suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Rachel? She's not my girlfriend," Nico said, trying for a smile, "She's just a friend."

"You didn't answer my question."

Nico shrugged, "she's been trying to hook me up with every attractive guy who passes by she sees. It's nothing personal."

Inwardly, Nico face palmed. Seriously? He couldn't even tell his friends about his sexuality, but he could tell a total stranger? Something was seriously wrong with him.

The man looked like he was trying hard not to laugh, "So what do you think? Like what you see?"

If Nico had a little less composure he would have blushed. Was this guy trying to _flirt_ with him?

"Well my eyes aren't burning out of my skull," Nico smirked, "I should probably take your order before my manager gets angry."

The man laughed and handed him his menu, "Surprise me."

Nico knit his eyebrows together, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," the man winked, forcing Nico to look into his liquid green eyes, "Surprise me."

Nico stood in the kitchen for a few minutes trying to figure out what to put down on as an order. What does one do in this situation?

Finally he settled for something simple. Chocolate chip pancakes with sausage and eggs. Couldn't really go wrong there. Besides, it was his personal favorite.

When he came back with the man's food, he caught the guy smiling.

"This is my favorite thing to order!" the man raised an eyebrow at Nico, "Are you psychic or something?"

Nico smiled softly, "No. It just happens to be my favorite too."

"Really? Small world," the man grabbed a napkin and a pen from his back pocket. He scribbled something down and handed it to Nico.

"My name is Daniel Flores. I'm thinking we should hang out,"

Nico tentatively took the napkin and noticed a phone number scrawled on the page. He pocketed it and gave the man a genuine smile.

"Nico di Angelo," he introduced himself, "And I was just thinking the same thing."

He could almost hear Rachel gloating now, but he couldn't bring himself to care.


End file.
